Visualizing Carbon Emissions
This year during Climate Week, CLIP set out to visualize the impact of a single day of all the passenger cars in NYC. This can be communicated as a very large number (~32,328,767 kg of CO2e) or as a 1:415 scale model of the Empire State Building encased in a glass vitrine that appears to fill with a glowing orange smog as a observer moves a slider from 0 to 24 hours.
In just one day, all the cars in NYC release enough greenhouse gases to fully engulf the Empire State Building.
Data
The main source of data for CLIP’s display is the Greenhouse Gas Inventory kept by the NYC government. This data was cross referenced with accepted averages of emissions from cars per mile.
Inspiration
Some sources of inspiration for this project included:
CarbonVisuals work showing our cities filling with spheres representing carbon emissions.
Olafur Eliasson’s The Weather Project, 2003 installation at the Tate Modern Turbin Hall.
CAKE’s visualization of a carbon foot print associated with production.
The orange skies experienced in NYC in early June 2023 from the Canadian wildfires.
Reception
CLIPs interactive exhibit was on display during the Brooklyn Block Party at NEST Climate Event at the Javits Center and during the NEW CLIMATE FUTURES at Newlab in Brooklyn, NY.
The display hit home for many that live in NYC. Seeing the iconic tower consumed in smog reminded many of the recent Canadian Wildfires where NYC skies turned orange. It also led many to continue the line of thinking:
“If this is one day, what does a year look like?”
“I live in Paris, what do car emissions in Paris look like in comparison to the Eiffel Tower?”
If you’re interested in learning more about the design development and making of the display stay tuned!
